November - A Month of Thanksgiving

I love November. The leaves change. The weather is cooler and perfect for hot apple cider and nice warm soups. November also brings us Thanksgiving. What a great occasion to have a time a year that causes us to remember our blessings. It's so easy to get wrapped up in a poor economy or daily frustrations, but we, especially as Americans, have so many things to be thankful for.

So... today I'm thankful for my husband. He has been great about doing a lot of the housework so I can get off my feet. He's so good about playing with Trent and doing bathtime and bedtime. He's such an awesome dad. I normally rest during Trent's naptime, but being idle is hard for me. I see things that I want to get done and just do them. Unfortunately, my very pregnant body doesn't always agree with me being on the move all the time. I'm ready for this baby to come out, but I still have a few weeks left. I'm not sleeping well. Aside from the inevitable trips to the bathroom, my feet and legs have been cramping up on me. My lower back has been spasming. I have random contractions throughout the day. So, I'm attempting to take it easy so this baby makes it to full term. I'm incredibly thankful for a husband that's so supportive.

What are you thankful for today?

Happy Halloween!

Trent was an adorable Peter Pan for Halloween this year. I followed a tutorial that I found online and made his outfit from scratch. He looked pretty cute. My creative side is definitely starting to show more as a stay at home mom than it ever did as a financial analyst. I love how much fun I am having creating things! Yesterday, we went and trick or treated at Grandma and Grandpa K and Great-Grandma J. Tonight, we went to the annual Tailgate Party at church. It was a lot of fun! Trent played on some of the inflatables and tried his first lollipop. He's a fan! We had a great time hanging out with friends, eating good food, and soaking up the fun, family atmosphere.

Mr. Peter Pan

Oh, those blue eyes!

Family of 3.5 ;)

TJ and Uncle Dave

Tailgate Party at Church

Pumpkin Patch Tradition

Every fall, we make a trip to a pumpkin patch outside of town. It is always one of my favorite family day trips of the year. They have a corn maze, a hay ride, a petting zoo, horse rides, kiddie tractors, and of course picking out a pumpkin! It's bunches of fun for the kids! Last year Trent was only about 7 months old when we went. He did the corn maze and picked out a pumpkin, but it wasn't really a 'hands on' experience. This year, Trent was interested in everything. Grandma and Grandpa Reiersen came down for the weekend and joined us for the trip. It was so much fun to have them along. Grandpa even escorted Trent on his very first horseback ride. Trent loved it! He has no fear of animals and loves all kinds of animals. He spent forever in the bird barn (there were coups full of chickens, ducks and geese). He even pet a baby chicken.

Pumpkin Pickin'

Hayride!

TJ's first horseback ride

Petting a chicken

Riding a John Deere for Uncle Eric

Monkey See Monkey Do

Mollie, Chad and Luke came to visit this weekend. While they were here, we took the boys to the zoo. The weather was perfect for walking around. The animals seemed to enjoy it too. They had more personality and were a lot more active than in the summer.

Luke loves his daddy

Family portrait?

Gorilla Luke

Things have changed a bit since our Auburn days...

What's a zoo trip without some wildlife pics?

Hard Work to be a Giraffe

Trent wore his halloween costume for most of the day. We didn't go trick or treating because both Jesse and I did not feel right asking people for candy when Trent is not old enough to ask for it or eat it. Instead we opted to run errands with a giraffe. Trent really didn't mind it and he seemed to enjoy the attention that came with being dressed up. The kids we passed were hilarious. He had one little boy come running up to him and yell to his mother, "Mom, it's a monkey, there's a monkey in the store, come see the monkey!" (I think his mom may need to take him to the zoo more often.) Smile. Anyway, we ran errands all day and Trent held up really well. He took his afternoon nap in Costco, which was a madhouse. By the end of the day, he was pretty well spent.

Morning

Day

Night

Happy Halloween!!!

Cold, Blustery Days

This weekend we had a cold snap come through. Normal for this time of year is highs in the mid 70s. This weekend our highs were in the mid 40s, low 50s. The weekend was pretty low key. It feels great to have a change of seasons. We pulled out the fall/winter clothes and enjoyed some fresh air, hot cider and smores on the patio.

Bundled up and looking like a Norsk

Trent is really growing. He cut his third tooth this weekend and has a fourth on the way. He also constantly wants to stand. We took a family walk down to Jesse's grandmother's house this weekend and Trent was constantly pulling himself up on her coffee table. (Our coffee table has really sharp edges and is made of slate so we haven't even shown him that one!) At our house, we've noticed it in his room. He likes to stand while holding onto his crib or while holding onto you. It reminds me of that trust game you used to play in grade school. He stands up with complete faith that we will catch him. It is so fun watching him learn, figure things out, and become brave enough to attempt to see and touch things on his own.

Standing on Daddy

Tough Guy

Standing Up at his crib

Hey Ma, Look what I'm doing!

I think parenting must be easier for people with pets. It is instant entertainment for the baby. It is such a welcome break to watch him interact with them when I've heard the ABCs, 123s, and all the other silly songs that every baby toy seems to play over and over again. (Though teaching the dogs not to bark when baby is sleeping is a whole different story!)

Duke, TJ's favorite

Dozer and TJ

Pumpkin Patch

For the last three years, we have made it a tradition to go to the pumpkin patch in October. One of the local farms sets up a corn maze for all ages, a hay maze for the kids, a petting zoo, and you get to pick your own pumpkin. We've had rain for what seems like forever so it was so nice that today was rain free! We knew the fields would be really muddy, so we donned our hiking boots and opted for the baby carrier instead of the stroller. We went with friends of ours and had a great time. The corn maze is a lot bigger than you would expect it to be so it takes us a bit to get through it. Trent looked a little confused as to why everything around him looked the same. The line to the hayride was really long (EVERYONE was out since it was the first day of good weather in a while) so we opted to walk to the pumpkin fields. TJ was a trooper during our little hike and picked out a little white pumpkin.